Microsoft shuts down chatrooms On the news today... Microsoft is shutting down ALL its UK chatrooms - the media and the "mail" are doing their usual nonce slant on it, saying it will protect the innocent. So... good thing they are shutting them down? Will it protect people? OR..... is it just careful downsizing by MS on a probably unprofitable business, with an amazing moral "spin" put on it to make Microsoft look good? Discuss....
heard this on radio 4 on the way into work this morning... talkabout '1984' - as if that's going to protect kids. what next? banning chat rooms? banning message boards? banning any comminications software like icq? banning the internet? global companies flexing their muscles and showing the grip they have on the world. admittedly, it's made paedos jobs easier by introducing them to kids - but talkabout closing the stable gate after the horse has bolted... microsoft are trying to look like the good guys to win back a few people votes....
Do alot of people off here use msn chat? Would this be a good time for promise to get a decent chat section?
Judging by the number of people who use this board constantly - some kind of online chat would be good. Make sure its firewall friendly though - my firewall blocks everything other than port 80... im guessing alot of people at work will have that problem also.
don't like MSN, icq, that sort of thing... never seems secure enough. a bit too 'intergrated' or corporate... or maybe i don't have enough friends.
This is a case of msn downsizing, they're doing away with their free services: picture hosting, chat rooms, etc. Nothing to do with paedophiles - this is simply a spin put on it to keep microsoft in the media lime light. I don't think a chatroom is needed here, they're irritating... messageboards are good - chatroooms are boring.
Internet users debate MSN's closure As Microsoft announces the imminent closure of its UK internet chatrooms, online bulletin boards have been humming with views on the news. "We're living in a 'blame someone else society'," writes Mids, the online pseudonym of a user on one of Microsoft's message boards. According to him (or her), this is at the root of Microsoft UK's decision to close down its chat rooms. This view is carried on an MSN discussion group site, amid a discussion entitled "MSN shuts down chatrooms to protect children". There is a lot of blaming going on. Watchman, who kicked off the discussion late on Tuesday evening, took a swipe at the "what about the childruuuun?" brigade, who argue that chatroom sites are dominated by paedophiles praying on unsuspecting children. Kog was more forthright: "Blame the filthy scum paedophiles, they are the ones abusing children - but they are abusing the general public now." Bloss believes there is more to it. "It's a money saving ploy dressed up as child protection". Watchman came back with a attack on Carol Vorderman, who has led a campaign for "safe surfing" of the net. MSN shuts its chatrooms And just for good measure, IanMac, jabbed an accusatory finger at companies that provide lists of e-mail accounts to spammers, although this was getting off the point slightly. Clearly, Microsoft has roused strong passions among the online community. Unlike MSN's chatrooms, which Microsoft is planning to close on 14 October, it seems the "Groups" element, on which these messages were posted, will continue to run. The main difference between the two is that while chatrooms offer instantaneous online discussions, "Groups" is the online equivalent of talk radio, offering screened bulletin boards. Before a viewpoint is posted live onto MSN's site, it must first pass muster with a professional moderator. Anything suspect is removed. Parents fear their children are unsafe while using chat sites The "chatrooms" discussion is one of many lively debates simmering on MSN Groups on Wednesday morning, touching on subjects such as "America's quest for global dominance" and John Pilger's "Leftist propaganda show". One of the most popular is "Lock up your cats" - a posting which highlighted fears in Australia that domestic cats were slaughtering native wildlife. Inevitably, perhaps, the "closing down chatrooms" group drew a reaction from Microsoft's many eager baiters. After all, the company, perhaps more than any other technology firm, is widely distrusted by ardent internet users. BV1 offered the following view: "It's a quick and easy way of grabbing the headlines and scoring a few PR points. Perhaps the retail side of MS is starting to feel the pinch brought on by years of overcharging for its software, whilst forcing users to upgrade every 5 minutes." Another user, Sweet_soul, forecast dire consequences. "Yes now kids will panic, and give their personal details like phone number, and even their home addresses, to their contacts and friends online... so the pervs will win again, they will just say... i don't want to lose contact with you... give me your home address or something like that." Meanwhile, on MSN's Message Boards, a user called on others to "sign this thread to campaign and keep chat open". But after nearly five hours, only 10 others had done so.
messenger will never be shut down - its a hugely important tool for ppromoting the .net platform. As for chatroom filters there would eb no point, people usually want to stay in touch with the people they talk to in chatrooms... There is no way of protecting children from pedo's, we can only educate them.
chat rooms are for pathetic openionated little brats who use mammy and daddys computer to search for porn and to press alt+tab.. msn are right to ban them.. what valid purpose do they have? none. i suspect there is a large case of pot kettle black within many these government anti peadophile comitees or taskforces. politicians are nasty little scumbags. :evil:
I completely disagree with M$'s reasoning behind closing down Europe's chatrooms (anyone reminded of Brass Eye?), but what are we going to lose?: fishy fingers: hello room Franksminiaturefriend: is there any women in here? i'm m, 43 from LEICESTER ^^'@@rdv@rk"%: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH fishy fingers: hello? RooneyIsGod11: fuk of man u tosers Franksminiaturefriend: is there ANY women in here? or anyone that's ever 'done it' with a lady? i would like to know what it's like ^^'@@rdv@rk"%: :spangled: :spangled: TABLELAMP :groovy: I'm really going to miss it when it goes... Oh, and M$ are going to stop Trillian users logging into M$N Messenger too. B*st*rds.
